“What Next” is an international exhibition project being produced in honor of the upcoming 100th anniversary of the birth of Stanisław Lem. The project is inspired by “Futurological Congress,” one of Lem’s well-known science-fiction stories. In the year 2021, exactly 50 years will have passed since its publication as part of Lem’s collection Insomnia. The story raises questions that are still valid today, many of which remain not fully answered.
The title “What Next?” asks us how we, today, imagine the future of the world as we know it. How will technology, with its staggering pace of development, ultimately come to change it? What will be the place of humans within that world? Will we be able to compete with artificial intelligence for our place in the key areas of life? Does our present-day vision of the future coincide with that of the utopians and futurists who lived decades before us? What emotions do these issues raise for artists? What is the place and role of art within this vision of our world?
The Adam Mickiewicz Institute received 250 applications for this initiative. The curatorial jury for the exhibition — comprising Max Houghton (United Kingdom), Kateryna Radchenko (Ukraine), and Katarzyna Sagatowska (Poland) — has selected 16 entries for concepts for the exhibition. The selected proposals combine cohesive and original concepts with strong visual components.
The following creators have been selected for the “What Next?” exhibition:
Yana Bachynska
Lilya Chavaga
Veronika Cherednychenko
Maciej Czuchryta & Marta Wieczorek
Jacek Doroszenko, Ewa Doroszenko
Emily Graham
Anka Gregorczyk
Kamila Izykowicz
Yura Kolomiets
Pawel Mendrek
Pawel Pacholec
Loreal Prystaj
Magdalena Raczkowska
Rake Collective
Hanna Shumska
Anna Beata Targosz
Thank you to all of the applicants, and congratulations to those selected!
The project partners include: Galeria Jednostka, Odesa Photo Days, the Polish Cultural Institute in London, Jam Factory Art Center in Lviv, and the British Council.